


youth: a heartbreakingly schmoopy work of staggering genius

by karanguni



Category: Oceans movies
Genre: Yuletide, challenge:Yuletide 2008, recipient:Nubi-chan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-04
Updated: 2010-07-04
Packaged: 2017-10-10 09:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/98154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karanguni/pseuds/karanguni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny and Rusty remember being young. Vaguely.</p>
            </blockquote>





	youth: a heartbreakingly schmoopy work of staggering genius

**Author's Note:**

> The title? Is Livia's. Except for "youth:", that one's mine. I love and love and love moontyger, my most excellent beta. Also, the whole of yulechat - you guys *are* my Google.

Danny and Rusty remember being young.

Vaguely.

There's some musty recollection of complete sentences, elementary poker, and lazy nights in Vegas sweating through their suits in the heat.

When Danny thinks about being young, he thinks about angles and how they used to add up; he thinks about the way they used to sit down at night and memorise phone numbers and names; he thinks about riding around in a car cheap enough to match Rusty's fashion sense. And air vents, which factor into his life more than they do in the average American male's.

When Rusty thinks about being young -- Rusty doesn't, really. Rusty is young, but when he thinks about what it was like being _younger_, he thinks mostly in lists:

1\. Nachos at the little hole-in-the-wall of Caesar's? Not so much.  
2\. Sometimes there are buffets at the Hard Rock Cafe. Maybe.  
3\. The Stardust, before the end. Shrimp cocktails. Someone else's credit card. Perfection.

Youth. Good times, and no women.

Before youth, there was nothing interesting. Danny can't really recall a time when they haven't been playing the game, but if he throws his mind back he can remember a time just before Rusty. Rusty definitely remembers a time before Danny. It was quieter, and a lot more boring.

Back then, there was Rueben. He was your go-to guy; still is, in a way. If you were lost or if you were bored, you went to Rueben and lived on his couch, and two weeks later you were on the job. You gave him a cut, but he gave you cigars and taught you things about women that a man built like Rueben really shouldn't have been teaching anyone. Danny met Rusty at Rueben's; coincidentally enough, Rusty met Danny there, too. Life's funny that way. They didn't question it - they just took out a Bentley from the garage and came back in the backseat of a trooper's patrol car (the charge, "impersonation of public figures"). The Bentley didn't make it that far.

Rueben said, 'What are you two, stupid? No, you're not. You could've pulled it off, maybe. Are you two rich? _No,_ you're not. Well.' Rueben reached into his bathrobe (did he wear anything else around the house?) and took out his man-purse (ten years, Rueben had it, ten whole years before it got in style) and threw credit cards at them in every shade of green and gold and platinum and black. 'Well, now you are.'

Rusty brushed an Amex off his lap and said, 'Thanks, Rueben,' and Danny said, 'We appreciate it, Rueben,' and Rueben said, 'Yeah, well, you're going to pay me back. With interest,' and everything just worked itself out from there: they grew up.

Now they're -- still young, just a little bit older. The Stardust is gone. Nothing at Caesar's is edible. Danny still can't look at Rusty's shirts without sunglasses on.

'You know,' Rusty says, looking at Rueben just lying there on the bed, practically dead. 'He's not going to -'

'Yeah,' Danny agrees. 'He probably still - Do you think?'

Rusty shrugs, dusting breadcrumbs off his hands. 'Guy like Rueben? I think he still has the invoices.'

Danny leans in. 'Did we, with the first platinum?'

'Ye-ah,' Rusty nods. 'And we got the special rims, too.'

'That hurt him,' Danny says, nudging a pillow into place. 'He'd remember that.'

'Yup. He'll really want it back, this time.'

'Think we're still going at 2% per annum?'

'It's a lot of annums.'

'We're not -'

'Nah, Danny, you're not.'

'Thanks.'

'Just mature.'

'_What?_'


End file.
